The JMU Duke Dog makes cameo appearances at permissible and appropriate events in the Shenandoah Valley.  To request a Duke Dog appearance at your event, please review the guidelines below and CLICK HERE to submit your request.

1. Completion of this form does not guarantee that James Madison University will be able to accommodate your request.

2. All requests must be received AT LEAST two weeks prior to your event deadline.

3. If you have specific questions about a donation or about a question pertaining to the forms, please call JMU Athletics Marketing at (540) 568-3359.

4. Please allow two to five business days to process your request.

5. You will be contacted by phone or mail regarding your request's approval.

6. Please note that your organization is responsible for gas mileage.

7.  If your event is not an internal JMU event there is a $25 appearance fee.

Interested in being Duke Dog?

Do you think you have the spirit of a Duke Dog?  Contact Coach Kelly Moore at cheer@jmu.edu for information about auditions.

The Duke Dog mascot as we know him today first appeared in the 1982-83 basketball season. There had been an earlier version of the Duke Dog mascot. A wild-eyed - and totally unconvincing - mascot first appeared in the 1972-73 basketball season but failed to generate any support for continued existence. 

The current mascot, extremely popular with fans young and old, was the brainchild of Dr. Ray V. Sonner, the vice president for university relations who was behind the bulldog mascot and the Duke Dog cartoon. Sonner commissioned a professionally-made mascot outfit to be worn by student volunteers.

Eight-foot-tall Duke Dog, complete with crown and cape, entertains crowds at major JMU sports events as well as making public appearances through the state.

Duke Dog debuted on Nov. 28, 1982, when the Dukes played Virginia Military Institute in the first game played in the new JMU Convocation Center .

Even though students were on Thanksgiving break, the Convocation Center was packed for the V.M.I. game and a capacity crowd erupted when Duke Dog made his first appearance. Duke Dog brought the same magic as the bulldogs Duke III and Duke IV in producing a win in his first appearance. JMU won 58-33.

In the 2004 football season, Duke Dog competed with 11 other college mascots in Capital One's College Mascot of the Year competition. Duke Dog gathered far more votes than any of the other mascots in the popular voting but, because of judges' ratings, the championship went to Monte, the grizzly bear mascot of the University of Montana - the team JMU had defeated in the Division I-AA national title game.